1514371 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of Malaysia, sought a protection visa in Australia. The dispute concerned whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the five prescribed reasons under section 5J(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that she faced a real risk of suffering significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed to Malaysia. The matter was before the Tribunal, constituted by Member Nicole Burns.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary issues. Firstly, whether the applicant possessed a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, as defined by section 5J(1) of the Act. Secondly, if the first criterion was not met, the Tribunal had to assess whether there were substantial grounds to believe that the applicant would suffer significant harm, as defined by section 36(2A), as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of her removal to Malaysia, pursuant to section 36(2)(aa) of the Act.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims that she left Malaysia to avoid a forced marriage arranged by her parents to settle a debt. She alleged that upon refusal, she was detained, intimidated, and harassed by her parents, her prospective husband and his family, and that the Malaysian authorities would not provide protection due to corruption and the commonality of such arrangements. The Tribunal applied Ministerial Direction No. 56, taking into account relevant policy guidelines and country information. It concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) and also did not meet the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa).

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.